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Rituximab used to treat skin disorders

A new review article from the journal Dermatologic Therapy reveals that rituximab, a drug used to treat lymphoma, is now becoming used by dermatologists to treat various dangerous skin diseases.

17 Dec 2007

Genetic cause of Kawasaki disease

Researchers from Japan's RIKEN SNP Research Center, collaborating with a team at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), have discovered a new genetic variation that affects a child's risk of getting Kawasaki disease (KD), an illness characterized by acute inflammation of the arteries throughout the body.

17 Dec 2007

Herceptin helps women with multiple chromosomes containing HER2 gene

The targeted therapy Herceptin helps women with HER2+ type of breast cancer independent of whether patients have extra copies of chromosome 17, home to the HER2 gene which produces the HER2 protein that fuels cancer growth.

17 Dec 2007

Tumors less than 1 centimeter in size can be aggressive and may require maximum therapy

Breast tumors that are 1 centimeter in size or smaller - no more than 0.4 inch in length - can still be very aggressive and may require more intensive therapy than is routinely offered today, say researchers at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla.

17 Dec 2007

Avastin shows promise for brain cancer

A clinical study conducted at Henry Ford Hospital on the use of a drug to extend the survival of patients with the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer, has yielded results that were significantly better than expected.

17 Dec 2007

Targeted therapy and chemotherapy shrinks breast cancer metastases in brain

A combination of a "targeted" therapy and chemotherapy shrank metastatic brain tumors by at least 50 percent in one-fifth of patients with aggressive HER2-positive breast cancer, according to data presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

17 Dec 2007

Sunitinib may be associated with cardiac toxicity

Another FDA-approved targeted cancer drug, sunitinib (SutentTM, Pfizer), may be associated with cardiac toxicity, report researchers at Children's Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston), and Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia).

17 Dec 2007

Women persist in plastic surgery treatments that are not working

Women are more likely to persist with using creams, supplements and plastic surgery to look younger if they feel these are not yet working, new research says.

14 Dec 2007

Caution on use of Vasopressin in septic shock

Vasopressin should be used with great caution for the treatment of hypotension in septic shock, according to results from an international research team published in the online open access journal Critical Care.

14 Dec 2007

Researchers zero in on the tiniest members in the war on cancer

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University have uncovered another reason why one of the most commonly activated proteins in cancer is so dangerous.

14 Dec 2007

New UIC center to study end-of-life transition

The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing has received a federal grant to create a center to study people as they transition to the end of life.

14 Dec 2007

MicroRNA regulates cancer stem cells

One of the biggest stories in cancer research over the past few years has been, unexpectedly, stem cells.

14 Dec 2007

High-dose chemo and stem cell transplant shows little or no survival benefit for breast cancer

High-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation, the controversial, arduous, yet once-popular combination treatment that fell out of favor as a therapy for breast cancer, has proven not to be beneficial as an adjuvant therapy for women with node-positive disease, according to an expansive analysis conducted by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

14 Dec 2007

First view of synapse in real time

For the first time, scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City have observed in real time a cellular mechanism that's crucial to how brain cells communicate.

14 Dec 2007

Drug study for brain cancer shows promising results

14 Dec 2007

Chronic knee pain: Is surgery the only solution?

The results of a study published in the online open access journal, BMC Medicine indicate that sufferers of chronic patellofemoral syndrome (PFPS), a chronic pain in the front part of the knee, gain no extra benefit from surgery.

14 Dec 2007

Cancer research giants to present the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium

The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has announced a collaboration for the future of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).

14 Dec 2007

BioMarin Pharmaceutical announces FDA approval for Kuvan

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing approval for Kuvan(TM) (sapropterin dihydrochloride) Tablets, the first specific drug therapy approved for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU).

14 Dec 2007

Aggressive TB control can yield big economic gains

A new World Bank research report finds that 22 countries with the world's highest numbers of TB cases could earn significantly more than they spend on TB diagnosis and treatment if they signed onto a global plan to sharply reduce the numbers of TB-related deaths.

14 Dec 2007

Use of thiazolidinediones by seniors linked with increased risk of heart problems

Older patients treated with the diabetes medications known as thiazolidinediones (which include rosiglitazone) had a significantly increased risk of heart attack, congestive heart failure and death, compared with the use of other hypoglycemic drugs, according to a study in the December 12 issue of JAMA.

13 Dec 2007